Gravity Forms vs. Contact Form 7

Within the last year, we have been busy switching websites that use Contact Form 7 & Contact Form 7 DB to Gravity Forms in all of our WordPress websites. While Contact Form 7 is a great plugin, news has emerged that there will be no further updates to its complementary extension Contact Form 7 DB. We’ve seen this decision has caused a few issues across certain websites. As such, here are just a few of the issues we’ve observed and reasons why we’ve decided to make the switch to Gravity Forms from Contact Form 7:

Lost Data & Leads

When exploring some of the issues that have been reported to us, we have noticed that some of the problems with Contact Form 7 DB pertain to the loss of data with no option to be able to retrieve it. Upon further inspection, we have discovered that the Contact Form 7 DB extension (that collates and stores data submitted through the Contact Form 7 plugin) will no longer be updated and is scheduled to be discontinued. This means that any users currently using both the Contact Form 7 and Contact Form 7 DB extension should either look to find a different extension that’s compatible with the plugin, or make the switch to Gravity Forms.

Extensive Features & Integrations

Gravity Forms plugin offer far more features, integrations and better functionality. This means you have a lot more freedom and options, than if you were using Contact Form 7. Each form can have its own unique settings, meaning you can control each form’s appearance separately. Gravity Forms also allows you to set a period of time you want the form to be active for, and you can even limit the amount of submissions it can accept too. These are just a few of the extensive features that Gravity Forms offer, but we’ve found that it’s far easier to use and configure than Contact Form 7.

Simplicity & Ease

In short, it’s really easy to create new forms and feature them on the front-end of your website. It doesn’t matter if you are building a standard contact form, or even one more complex, the whole process is very straightforward and you shouldn’t experience too much difficulty setting them up.

Post Submissions

Finally, with Gravity Forms, you can go above and beyond the remit of a general contact form. As an example, within Gravity Forms there’s a tool that enables users to submit certain types of posts directly to your site. This functionality would be especially ideal for job hunters that are applying for jobs via your website, or for a media based company that receives content from an array of different distributors.

These are just a few of the many reasons we have switched from Contact Form 7 to Gravity forms. In summary, Gravity forms offer far more flexibility, are more reliable and are extremely easy to use, so making the switch shouldn’t be too difficult of a job. However, if you’re struggling to make sense of it or you’re just needing a bit of a helping hand, why not get in touch to see how we can help you make the switch in 2018!